America's 'client' state: Is it time for Pakistan to shift foreign policy?

Here are few of the highlights of Pakistan's involvement in the US led war on terror that has dragged on for more than 12 years: Over 40,000 deaths, $80+ billion in losses, growing insecurity and mounting fear among its citizens.

The war that was initially started to target militants in
Afghanistan is haunting innocent civilians not only in
Afghanistan, but also Pakistan. To make matters worse, the drone
attacks on Pakistan's frontier are also turning people further
against the United States and the Pakistani government. They also
have the effect of assisting the militants with their local
recruitment drives.

So, for how long will it go on? And how many more innocent
civilians should Pakistan lose to terrorism? And above all, is an
alliance with the USA a benefit to Pakistan at all?

These are the questions currently being asked by the people of
Pakistan. The conditional Coalition Support Fund (CSF), which
Pakistan receives for assisting the USA, is peanuts compared to
the losses incurred in this war. But even this CSF has, on a
couple of occasions, been released with stringent conditions
making it a charity, rather than support.

These scenarios rather than making Pakistan look like an ally,
portray it as a mere "client" state for America. The implications
and signals are simple for Pakistan; they point towards the need
for a shift in the country's foreign policy: a policy that weighs
the benefits of immediate neighbors and regional players against
the losses of this transatlantic alliance.

Particularly with the United States moving out of Afghanistan in
2014, Pakistan has to reconsider its alliances for the greater
interest and stability of the region. After all, the Taliban and
Al-Qaeda's main motive for its activities against Pakistan is the
Pak-US strategic alliance in this war.

Important regional stakeholders, such as China and Russia, are
keenly interested in post 2014 developments in Afghanistan. This
interest isn’t confined to Kabul, but also extends to Central
Asia where both Russia and China have valuable strategic assets.
Afghanistan’s neighboring countries such as Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan make it an area of concern for
Beijing and Moscow, because any terrorist outbreak post 2014
could harm their interests in the Central Asian region.

With these concerns resounding, Pakistan has an important role to
play. Not only must it tackle its own militancy problems, but the
country also has to ensure that its land is not used for
terrorist activities, both locally and abroad, in such places as
Afghanistan, Russia, India and China.

Farooq Yousaf for
RT

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.